About Me

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The recent arrival of Molasses Molly and Siren Sadie, teamed with Poppy, Zoey, Godiva, and Lulu has increased our cow milk production potential over the moon! I do not forsee a shortage of the rich, creamy, liquid gold any time soon..... not to mention the up and comers, Praline and Mazy, who will be first time fresheners next year, I can see sour cream and butter on the cooler shelves in the market come winter. Another steer is going to the processor this week, so there will be plenty of lean ground beef available. The processing fee has gone up again, so the cost of the ground round will be $5.00 lb.OUCH!!! The goat milk supply is still dwindling each week, but we are trying to make sure the babies have what they need. Call ahead for availability. It would also be a good idea to call ahead and reserve your milk, so that we can make sure your request can be filled, as even though the supply of Jersey milk has increased, so has the demand. The cover was put on the hoop house this week, to protect the bushels of green tomatoes that are hanging on the vines as they start to ripen. The MARKET HOURS: Friday from noon until 4:00 PM and Saturday from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Special appointments can be made throughout the week for dairy pickup. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Here on the farm, Henny Penny comes first! It is baby chick hatching time. We usually do it in the Spring and the Fall, after and before the unkind to baby chicks weather blankets the farm. The Farmer and Son have the brooder ready for the new crop of hatchlings. The days have been filled with projects to be completed before winter comes. A well house was built to protect the new well that was installed on the South Acres. The Farmers Son is all psyched to plant a maze and do a massive pumpkin patch next year, so he will now have plenty of water to irrigate. It will soon be time to cover the greenhouse to protect the fall tomatoes that are covering the vines. We did get the out of nowhere frost last week that set back some of the fall crops. I did get out early enough to save most of the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant but some of the squash and cucumbers were toast! We are harvesting lots of pecans this year, will have all sorts of pecan selections in the market for the holidays. Molasses Molly has settled in. She seems to like her new digs. The breeding season is well under way for the milking does. The buck seems to be doing his job, as he looks like a walking bag of bones. We have to almost force him to eat and drink, when his mind is on one thing and one thing only. Never underestimate the power of a flirty female, with a switchy tail! Alas, the goat milk supply is dwindling, as we near the end of this years milking season. It will be necessary to call ahead after this week to order goat milk, as we may have to stagger requests throughout the week to make sure we have what you need. The babies will come first, as we have many infants that drink our goat milk as their main source of nutrition. The cow milk is holding steady, but as goat milk drinkers may be forced to convert to cow milk for a time, calling ahead would also be a good idea. If all goes according to plan, we should have some goat milk until December, when we close for the holidays. The new goat milking season will begin again in February. We do have a few pumpkins left, the Farmers Son grew some doozies this year. We will have pie pumpkins for Thanksgiving. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

What a difference a week makes! The strawberry plants came from the North, and were planted. Poppy had her calf ( a sweet little girl), a new jersey cow has been added to our family, purchased from a farm in Oklahoma. The man who raised her said she gave lots of milk, but just took her own sweet time giving it up..... and he was very short on patience, My kind of girl!! Her name to be announced later as we get to know her better. I am kind of partial to Molasses, Molly for short. The cool weather has arrived, so we are changing gears. The goat milk supply is gradually slowing down, and the cow milk supply should soon be overflowing. There may even be butter in our future. The pullets should start laying any time now, the egg supply will be much more plentiful. We have planted cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, chard, for fall. The garlic was planted on time this year.The pumpkins are growing, will have some in the market this week. It is now a wait and see game, concerning the first frost date. It will soon be time to cover the hoop house, as the tomatoes and peppers, will need protection from the cold. Should have ripe red ones in the market in a couple of weeks. Once the planting is finished, the fall/winter projects will begin. We happened upon a small walk in cooler at a great bargain, so it will be installed in the next little while. The farmer has plans to double our potato and onion production, as we will have a place to store them in the summer. The new market hours started this week. MARKET HOURS: Friday from noon until 4:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM until 4:00PM. Special appointments can be made for dairy pickup throughout the week. We are so grateful for all of our blessings, From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!